At the Crossroads (film)

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At the Crossroads
A la croisee des chemins - generique.jpg
Title credits
À la croisée des chemins
Directed by
Written by
Starring
Denise Pelletier

Jean Fontaine


Cinematography
Edited byJean-Marie Poitevin
Music by
Distributed bySociété des Missions-Étrangères du Québec
Release date
1943 (Canada)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

At the Crossroads (French: À la croisée des chemins) is a 1943 Canadian film directed by and written by . The first dramatic feature to be produced by a Quebec religious community, the Société des Missions-Étrangères du Québec, it was narrated by René Lévesque, the future premier of Quebec.[1][2]

Plot[]

An image from the film, in which Jean tells his mother he intends to become a missionary

A young man, Jean Liber (Paul Guèvremont), who, at the end of his cours classique, decides to leave his rich, happy family and his fiancée, Pauline (Denise Pelletier), in order to become a missionary in China. This story of his struggle, 'at the crossroads' between love and God's calling, is clearly a pretext for a film designed to encourage young men to enter missionary work.[3][2]

Importance[]

À la croisée des chemins was based on a religious drama by , La folle aventure, which had been staged in 1942 for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Montreal.[4] Canadian film historian Peter Morris wrote: "It [the film] offers a remarkable ideological portrait of Quebec before the Quiet Revolution. Clearly apparent are the values of a lifestyle fostered by a militant Catholic Church: friendship, warmth, and an unproblematic family life. Equally apparent (at least in retrospect) are destructive self-sacrifice, repressed sexuality, and mutually sustaining links between religious and economic establishments."[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Wise, Wyndham (2001). Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-8020-3512-4. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Ramond, Charles-Henri (22 December 2012). "A la croisée des chemins – Film de Jean-Marie Poitevin". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Morris, Peter (1984). The Film Companion. Toronto: Irwin Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 0-7725-1505-0.
  4. ^ Loiselle, André (2003). Stage-Bound: Feature Film Adaptations of Canadian and Québécois Drama. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 19. ISBN 0-7735-2610-2.
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